Best things come in twos!

Gently Falling is a beautiful new set from Stampin' Up! that features several different leaf shapes, and "Two-Step Stampin'!" The leaf below is actually done with two stamps - a general leaf shape that's the lighter orange (Tangerine Tango in SU! terms) and the darker rust color (Cajun Craze) is a line drawing that makes the outline on top of it.

I also used Early Espresso card stock, Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper, linen thread and buttons from the designer buttons "brights" assortment. This card was inspired by page 16 in the Holiday Mini catalog (click icon to the right to check it all out!).

And the discussion of "two-step stamping" led me to share this photo, snapped about a week ago around 7:30 a.m. when we had a brief rain shower while it was still sunny out. Look at the beautiful double rainbow! (The second rainbow is to the right of the first one.)


Thanks for stopping! Let me know if you want to learn more about two-step stamping, either in a girls' night out workshop at your home (you can earn free stuff!) or in a class at my house.

Julie

Red Hats and a Wedding Card

Recently, my husband's cousin got hitched! It was a beautiful wedding, but what I'm sharing here is from the shower. All guests at this wedding shower got to choose a hat from Grandma's collection to wear for the festivities.


For the lovely couple, I made this wedding card, for which I've seen inspiration around the web. It's simple, using Stampin' Up!'s Whisper White card stock, cut into small rectangles with the corners rounded off. I used a texturz impressions plate to make the subtle pattern, and then used Basic Jewels - Pearls as accents. A little Real Red grosgrain ribbon "ties" it all together.


Card stock is Basic Black, Real Red and Brushed Silver. A tip when using the silver paper...it's kind of slick, so use a strong adhesive, like Stampin' Up!'s sticky strip, so the layers don't peel apart. (This is a lesson learned while making about 10 prototypes for my sister's wedding invitations...we used sticky strip in the end so that no one's invitation arrived in pieces!).

I'll show that wedding invitation after the wedding...which is is 13 days!

Thanks for stopping by,
Julie

Birthday Card(ed) in Vegas

Hey all! So, I'm trying to stick with the Wheel of Fortune "Before and After" theme. We'll see how long it goes/how clever I am. Today, I've got a birthday card to show you, and then a few pictures from Vegas...where yes, I was carded. But it was at the airport. For my boarding pass.

For the card-making part of the presentation, here's a summery greeting using some brand-new items in the 2011-2012 Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog.

The stamp sets are Pennant Parade, from the Idea Book & Catalog, and Swirls & Curls Verses, the hostess set from the 2011 Summer Mini catalog (see the link on the right--only available through August 31!).

The colors are Calypso Coral and Wisteria Wonder--new 2011-2012 "In Colors"--and Certainly Celery and So Saffron from the core colors in the big book. Some designer series patterned paper, baker's twine and basic jewels-pearls round out the look. I made this at a recent workshop, and it was a hit! If you'd like to make something like this in your home with your friends, let me know!

And now...here's some of what my DH and I (okay, and my BFF and her hubs) call "The Vegas." I tagged along on a work trip for DH...all the fun of The Vegas and no work! What's not to love? Except the slot machines, most of which didn't love me, even though I kept going back for more!



Love the water show at Bellagio! I was playing with the "guide" mode on my Nikon D3100, which set itself to take "moving water" pictures. I think it did an awesome job!

Here is DH, looking all official on the phone. If you remember the post about winter activities, yes, this is the same man who smokes meat when it's below zero in Minnesota in the winter!

And a final, parting shot. Oh, The Vegas, I love you...even though you take all my money in slot machines and shopping!

Thanks for stopping,
Julie

PS: I was not compensated for mentioning the D3100...I just really love it!

Projects with My Husband

In my last post, I promised you a photo of the pizza I made the second night (leftover dough, remember?) with my DH. You'll see there's only half left because we dug in so quickly, I forgot to grab the camera.

My half, the right half, is made with the whole wheat pizza dough, sweet honey barbecue sauce, grilled chicken and red onions. The left half, DH's half, has some kind of hot wings sauce on it. Woo-wee! It was kind of on fire. He loved it. I'm always surprised at how fast homemade pizza can come together; it makes a great meal.

And to continue of the theme of linking food to a card sample, below is a card I made for my husband (mentioned above) to use.

This is a thank you card that I made for my husband to send out after his SURPRISE 35th birthday party (I should have blogged about THAT!). He requested I make some cards for this reason, I did not MAKE him send thank yous. What a guy!


Crumb Cake and Whisper White card stock, Medallion background stamp, Sincere Salutations stamp set, (retired) Night of Navy 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Night of Navy classic ink.

Simple, masculine and easy to mass-produce!

Thanks for reading,
Julie

Before and After: Chicken Pesto Pizza Card

This is Before and After, as in the Wheel of Fortune game where the word in the middle is shared by the word or phrase before and after, but it's two separate things. So this post is not about a Chicken Pesto Pizza Card, but rather, a chicken pesto pizza and a pizza card. Just check it out.

Kahla and I were stuck *all alone* (ok, her cute two-year-old daughter was with us, too) without our chef-husbands about two weeks ago. Really. Stuck. They do most of the cooking. And they're super fabulous at it. And they like to cook. They don't use recipes, and it's creative. All. The. Time.

We didn't really want to drive back into Rochester to go out, so look what we came up with! We were super proud of ourselves...a little whole wheat pizza dough (from a mix, not even just a frozen dough hunk), garlic scape pesto (homemade by Kahla and respective husband), shredded mozzarella, grilled chicken and fresh tomato (probably from a farmer's market; Kahla brought it). Look!

This photo alone makes me think I could be a food blogger. I'd just make this pizza every day, and photograph it like this, every day. Would you keep reading? Hmmm... Could I get endorsements?

Well, regardless, it was tasty. Tase-tee. Mmm. Tune in later this week, and I'll show you the barbecue version I made with my respective husband the next night. There was half the dough left. I *had* to have pizza two days in a row.

OK, now onto the "After" part of this game show: the pizza card!

I received a swap (cards Stampin' Up! demonstrators make to trade with each other at events, so we can have lots of samples and ideas without having to do them all ourselves) at Convention in July in Salt Lake City that used the new Pennant Builder punch to make a pizza slice! It was so creative. So, here's my take on it, using another new product, the Stampin' Up! stripes embossing folder. A demonstration at Convention showed us how to make gingham with the folder!


To make the gingham, use your ink pad to ink up the Stripes embossing folder and run it through the Big Shot. Carefully remove the paper, ink up the folder again, and put the same paper back in, turned 90 degrees. Run it through again. Voila! Gingham!

Let me know if you have any questions about this one! I love it.

Thanks for stopping!
Julie

Storms and Stamping

High winds and big rain today in southeast Minnesota. This is what I spent my afternoon doing instead of stamping. This is our backyard, already half-way cleaned up, after a big storm rushed through at 10:30 a.m.

It was mostly just big branches and a couple tree tops, but it sure made a big mess. Throughout our little town, there were trees in streets and the obligatory large branch through a parked car's window.

But, never fear. I have a card to share! This is one I love that I made back in April. The ribbon is retired (5/8" grosgrain), but you can get a similar effect with the 5/8" satin ribbon in white. It might look even more elegant!


If you're wondering about the shimmery background...it's Stampin' Up! Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz with a couple drops of Bashful Blue classic ink re-inker added! This is a way to get colored Smooch Spritz in 50 colors!

Well, I need to make a card for tomorrow...so off I go! I'll post that one later...don't want to spoil the surprise for the recipient.

Thanks for stopping,
Julie

Delicate Doilies peek-a-boo!

The weather is crazy here in southeast Minnesota! It's only 11 a.m. and we're fast-approaching 100* F with thick humidity. I'm an old farm girl...can't resist talking about the weather!

So, to keep cool, why don't you stay inside and stamp? I just returned from Stampin' Up!'s annual convention in Salt Lake City, UT, and I've got tons of ideas to share. Watch for them here in the coming days, and if you'd like to see more, get in touch to set up your own private class with some friends!

Here's a card I prepared with new products from the 2011 Idea Book and Catalog, which was release July 1. I love the peek-a-book quality. Check out the photo and scroll down to get the details!
Card stock: So Saffron, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Delicate Doilies (new in the 2011 Idea Book and Catalog)
Stamp Set: Curly Cute (from the Summer Mini Catalog)
Tools: Big Shot, Scallop Circles #2 die, Doily Triple Layer Punch
Embellishments: Stampin' Dimensionals and a button from the Sale-a-bration pack, but you can substitute one from the Bold Brights button pack

To get the peek-a-boo effect, take the piece of So Saffron card stock and place it over Scallop Circles #2 die so you get all of the small circle and some of the larger one. Run it through the Big Shot, and you will have the "windows" in the card stock. Layer this piece over the Delicate Doilies designer paper, and voila! you have a peek-a-book layered look.

Give this quick project a try today...and stay cool!

Thanks for stopping by,
Julie